Job 3
Contemporary English Version
Job's First Speech
Blot Out the Day of My Birth
3 (A) Finally, Job cursed the day
of his birth
2 by saying to God:
3 Blot out the day of my birth
and the night when my parents
created a son.
4 Forget about that day,
cover it with darkness,
5 and send thick, gloomy shadows
to fill it with dread.
6 Erase that night from the calendar
and conceal it with darkness.
7 Don't let children be created
or joyful shouts be heard
ever again in that night.
8 Let those with magic powers[a]
place a curse on that day.
9 Darken its morning stars
and remove all hope of light,
10 because it let me be born
into a world of trouble.
Why Didn't I Die at Birth?
11 Why didn't I die at birth?
12 Why was I accepted[b]
and allowed to nurse
at my mother's breast?
13 Now I would be at peace
in the silent world below
14 with kings and their advisors
whose palaces lie in ruins,
15 and with rulers once rich
with silver and gold.
16 I wish I had been born dead
and then buried, never to see
the light of day.
17 In the world of the dead,
the wicked and the weary rest
without a worry.
* 18 Everyone is there—
19 where captives and slaves
are free at last.
Why Does God Let Me Live?
20 Why does God let me live
when life is miserable
and so bitter?
21 (B) I keep longing for death
more than I would seek
a valuable treasure.
22 Nothing could make me happier
than to be in the grave.
23 Why do I go on living
when God has me surrounded,
and I can't see the road?
24 Moaning and groaning
are my food and drink,
25 and my worst fears
have all come true.
26 I have no peace or rest—
only troubles and worries.
Footnotes
- 3.8 those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has “those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan,” which was some kind of sea monster. God's victory over this monster sometimes stood for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies (see Isaiah 27.1). In Job 41.1, Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers.
- 3.12 Why was I accepted: The Hebrew text has “Why were there knees to receive me,” which may refer either to Job's mother or to his father, who would have placed Job on his knees to show that he had accepted him as his child.
Job 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job Speaks: Job Curses the Day He Was Born
3 After all this, Job ⌞finally⌟ opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. 2 Job said,
3 “Scratch out the day I was born
and the night that said, ‘A boy has been conceived!’
4 “That day—
let it be pitch-black.
Let God above not ⌞even⌟ care about it.
Let no light shine on it.
5 Let the darkness and long shadows claim it as their own.
Let a dark cloud hang over it.
Let the gloom terrify it.
6 “That night—
let the blackness take it away.
Let it not be included in the days of the year
or be numbered among the months.
7 Let that night be empty.
Let no joyful singing be heard in it.
8 Let those who curse the day [a]
(those who know how to wake up Leviathan)
curse that night.
9 Let its stars turn dark before dawn.
Let it hope for light and receive none.
Let it not see the first light of dawn
10 because it did not shut the doors of the womb ⌞from which I came⌟
or hide my eyes from trouble.
Why Did I Survive at Birth?
11 “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born
and breathe my last breath when I came out of the womb?
12 Why did knees welcome me?
Why did breasts let me nurse?
13 Instead of being alive,
I would now be quietly lying down.
I would now be sleeping peacefully.
14 I would be with the kings and the counselors of the world
who built for themselves ⌞what are now⌟ ruins.
15 I would be with princes
who had gold,
who filled their homes with silver.
16 I would be buried like a stillborn baby.
I would not exist.
I would be like infants who never saw the light.
17 There the wicked stop their raging.
There the weary are able to rest.
18 There the captives have no troubles at all.
There they do not hear the shouting of the slave driver.
19 There ⌞you find⌟ both the unimportant and important people.
There the slave is free from his master.
Why Do I Go on Living?
20 “Why give light to one in misery
and life to those who find it so bitter,
21 to those who long for death but it never comes—
though they dig for it more than for buried treasure?
22 They are ecstatic,
delighted to find the grave.
23 Why give light to those whose paths have been hidden,
to those whom God has fenced in?
24 “When my food is in front of me, I sigh.
I pour out my groaning like water.
25 What I fear most overtakes me.
What I dread happens to me.
26 I have no peace!
I have no quiet!
I have no rest!
And trouble keeps coming!”
Footnotes
- 3:8 Or “those who curse the sea.”
Job 3
International Children’s Bible
Job Curses His Birth
3 After seven days Job spoke. He cursed the day he had been born. 2 Job said:
3 “Let the day I was born be destroyed.
And destroy the night when it was said, ‘A boy is born!’
4 Let that day turn to darkness.
Let God not even care about it.
Don’t let light shine on that day.
5 Let darkness and gloom have that day.
Let a cloud hide that day.
Let darkness cover its light.
6 Let thick darkness capture that night.
Don’t count it among the days of the year.
Don’t put it in any of the months.
7 Let that night be empty.
Let no shout of joy be heard in it.
8 Let the people who curse days curse that day.
They know how to wake up the sea monster Leviathan.
9 Let that day’s morning stars become dark.
Let it wait for daylight, but don’t let it come.
Don’t let it see the first light of dawn.
10 This is because it allowed me to be born.
That day did not hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born?
Why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb?
12 Why did my mother’s knees receive me?
Why did my mother’s breasts feed me?
13 If they had not been there, I would be lying dead in peace.
I would be asleep and at rest.
14 I would be asleep with kings and wise men of the earth.
They built places for themselves that are now ruined.
15 I would be asleep with rulers who had gold.
They filled their houses with silver!
16 Or why was I not buried like a child born dead?
I wish I were like a baby who never saw the light of day.
17 In the grave the wicked stop causing trouble.
And people who are tired are at rest.
18 In the grave there is rest for the captives.
They no longer hear the shout of the slave driver.
19 People great and small are in the grave.
And the slave is freed from his master.
20 “Why is life given to those who are in misery?
Why is it given to those who are so unhappy?
21 Some people want to die, but death does not come.
They search for death more than for hidden treasure.
22 They are very happy
when they get to the grave.
23 Life shouldn’t be given to a man who doesn’t know what will happen to him.
It shouldn’t be given to a man who feels trapped by God.
24 I make sad sounds as I eat.
My groans pour out like water.
25 The thing I was afraid of has happened to me.
And the thing I dreaded has happened.
26 I have no peace. I have no quietness.
I have no rest. I only have trouble.”
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